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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
WORLDCOM, INC. )
)
)
Complainant, )
) EB-01-MDIC-1158
v. )
)
VIRGIN ISLANDS TELEPHONE )
CORPORATION )
d/b/a INNOVATIVE TELEPHONE )
)
Defendant.
ORDER
Adopted: January 8, 2002 Released: January 9,
2002
By the Chief, Market Disputes Resolution Division, Enforcement
Bureau:
1. On September 28, 2001, pursuant to section 1.716 of the
Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.716, WorldCom, Inc.
(``WorldCom'') filed an informal complaint against Virgin Islands
Telephone Corporation d/b/a Innovative Telephone (``Vitelco'').1
WorldCom alleges that Vitelco has violated the Communications Act
of 1934, as amended (``the Act''), and the Commission's rules
regarding the maximum allowable rate-of-return for local exchange
carriers in 47 C.F.R. § 65.700 et seq. According to a proposed
order attached to a joint motion filed by the parties on October
11, 2001, ``Vitelco is expected to respond to the complaint by
denying all of the allegations in the complaint and claiming it
has no liability to WorldCom.''2
2. WorldCom's claims are in key respects similar to claims
presented by General Communications, Inc. (``GCI'') in a formal
complaint on which the Commission ruled in favor of the
complainant.3 That ruling is now under review by the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (``D.C.
Circuit'').4
3. Because the outcome of that appeal is likely to affect
the resolution of WorldCom's informal complaint, and to conserve
the resources of the parties and the Commission, the parties
submitted a joint motion on October 11, 2001, proposing that the
Commission require Vitelco not to respond to WorldCom's informal
complaint until ninety (90) days after the D.C. Circuit's
decision on the merits in ACS of Anchorage, Inc. v. FCC, Case No.
01-1059, has become final and appellate remedies have been
exhausted.5
4. We are satisfied that granting this joint request, as
modified, regarding Vitelco's filing obligation will serve the
public interest. The approach the Parties have proposed will
fully protect both WorldCom's and Vitelco's rights, conserve
private and public resources, and cause no injury to other
parties. We note that our standard procedure is to allow
defendant carriers approximately 30 days from the date we
transmit the complaint to file a response. The Joint Motion asks
that the Enforcement Bureau ``direct Vitelco that it not respond
to WORLDCOM's informal complaint until ninety (90) days after a
decision on the merits'' by the D.C. Circuit in ACS of Anchorage,
Inc. v. FCC, Case No. 01-1059, has become final and appellate
remedies have been exhausted.6 Given the language contained in
the Joint Motion, we direct Vitelco to file its response no
sooner than ninety (90) days after the D.C. Circuit's decision on
the merits in ACS of Anchorage, Inc. v. FCC, Case No. 01-1059,
has become final and appellate remedies have been exhausted, but
no later than one hundred and twenty (120) days after the D.C.
Circuit's decision on the merits in ACS of Anchorage, Inc. v.
FCC, Case No. 01-1059, has become final and appellate remedies
have been exhausted.
5. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to sections 4(i),
4(j), and 208 of the Communications Act, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §§
154(i), 154(j), 208 and the authority delegated by sections
0.111, 0.311, 1.717, and 1.718 of the Commission's rules, 47
C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.717, and 1.718, that Vitelco respond to
WorldCom's informal complaint no sooner than ninety (90) days
after the D.C. Circuit's decision on the merits in ACS of
Anchorage, Inc. v. FCC, Case No. 01-1059, has become final and
appellate remedies have been exhausted, but no later than one
hundred and twenty (120) days after the D.C. Circuit's decision
on the merits in ACS of Anchorage, Inc. v. FCC, Case No. 01-1059,
has become final and appellate remedies have been exhausted.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Alexander P. Starr
Chief
Market Disputes Resolution Division
Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
1 Informal Complaint of WorldCom, Inc. Against Virgin
Islands Telephone Corporation d/b/a Innovative Telephone, EB-01-
MDIC-1158 (filed Sept. 28, 2001).
2 See Proposed Order at 1 submitted with Joint Motion of
WorldCom, Inc. and Virgin Islands Telephone Corporation d/b/a
Innovative Telephone Regarding Procedure for Response of Informal
Complaint (filed Oct. 11, 2001) (``Joint Motion'').
3 General Communications, Inc. v. Alaska Communications
Systems Holdings et al., EB-00-MD-016, Memorandum Opinion and
Order, 16 FCC Rcd 2834 (2001) (``GCI Order'').
4 ACS of Anchorage, Inc. v. FCC, Case No. 01-1059 (D.C.
Cir. Filed Feb. 7, 2001).
5 Joint Motion at 1, 4.
6 Joint Motion at 4 (emphasis added).